Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-20
HENRY GEORGE.
A Texan Who Sees as Mr.. Henry George

I
| Secs.
! BALLINGER, Ten, May I6, 1857.
To the Editor of the Gazette:
THE GAZETTE does not enter into 8
thorough discussion of the pre- position OF
Henry George, but every now and then
fires blank cartridge at the supposed
social enemy, said shot doing greater ex-
ecution at the breech than st the muzzle.
In yesterdays issue of THE GAZETTE I
find an editorial as follows:
Henry Georges heart bleeds to divide
the land of those who have it with those
| who have it not, through q plan of taxa
ton that cOncesls the main purpose.
Henry George also charges S75 night
for lecturing and, it is said, has never
been known to stand at the door aud give
back any of the quarters to needy ticket
purchasers. What q man has in this
world he must earn with his brains II
muscle, and for his lack of either of these
society is not at fault.
Having read with q deep interest the
theory of Mr.. George, / can say for him
that his heart does not bleed to divide the
land of those who have it with those who
have it not. This would be something
like "robbing Peter to pay Paul." and no
one familiar with Mr.. Georges writings
would accuse him of such Ione-sided
policy. Nor, again, is any attempt made
al concealment in the tax proposition. 1t
is proposed, openly, Candidly and boldly
to tax the land TO the extent of it's
rental value. In other words, it is
claimed that the state should become
the landlord, and as a consequence that
the rent thus absorbed by the state should
go to provide public works.
Now, if this is heresy in political
economy, it would be much easier for
THE GAZETTE to so convince its readers
by logic, than by charging Mr.. George
with Inconsistency in practice. TIE
GAZETTE surely sees difference between
the possession of powers of mind or
body, or of knowledge acquired by years
of research, and the ownership
in a degree beyond actual
need of the gift of nature,
land. No one is more earnest than Mr.. |
George in claiming that every individual
is entitled to every value he creates; but, !
inasmuch as the value of land is not |
created by the individual who happens to |
have its metes and bounds on record, but |
by the JOINT act of society-groWth, he |
suggests that it is e. value that belongs |
to society, and should be claimed and APP
by its owner. Where the
false reasoning is, would be obliged to |
The GAZETTE to point out: but | must |
resist the argument that MIR. George &C.
cepts all that people will pay him for
Imparting to them q part of that
snowledge he has been labOTing for many
years to acquire. What connection there
is between this action on the part of Mr..
George and the withholding by specuIa-
tors of land from normal use, an unable T
20 see. l dare say the people who paid
Mr.. George S75 to lecture one evening
got the worth of their money, or at least
thought they had. "What man has in
his world, he must earn with his brains
)r muscle" It is in order that this rule
nay have no exception that Mr..
George argues for the land tax. 1t is +
lifffcult for ne to understand how
my man would become the possessor of
piece of land without using his brains
n muscle when the full rental value of
and must be paid to the state And
gain, fail to see what he would want
With it. If its value for speculation was
zone, which would be the case if it was
axed all it would bear, what would any
me want with it except for normal use?
The man who lacked brains and muscle,
II who was too indolent to use them,
would have to move to the country where ,
ent was at its minimum. In my humble
Judgment the only objection to this plan
hat is worthy of any serious considers-
ion, is the loss that would be entailed {
pom those who have invested in land be-
ond their actual needs. But the tax !
ould be increased so slowly and so grad |
ALLY that these could unload without
rash. GARGARY. /